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THE HURT LOCKER
There’s a compelling character moment toward the end of The Hurt Locker that takes place in a supermarket, which is startlingly effective in its contrast to prior events. Much of that, I suppose, is due to it being one of the few scenes in the film where somebody’s limbs aren’t as risk of being blown off their torso. This film isn’t attempting to offer any political insights into the Iraq War, or even realistically examine what it is that soldiers stationed out in Iraq go through every day (if that’s what you’re after, I recommend checking out The Wire-creator David Simon’s most recent televised opus, Generation Kill). This film, like District 9, is an action film. It’s less an intricately structured narrative than it is a series of loosely-fitted action set pieces, directed with such precise pacing and weight that the intensity of them literally left me with a migraine upon my initial viewing. Given the predictability of movies nowadays, I found this forgoing of traditional plotting to be a refreshing change of pace. People don’t see war-based action movies to be lectured; they see them because the subject matter lends itself to terrifyingly believable life-or-death scenarios. The Hurt Locker knows that this is the case, and embraces it. It is easily one of the most thrilling movie-going experiences I’ve ever had, and a definite highlight of ’09.Available on Blu-ray? Yes.Notable Extras: DVD & Blu-ray – An audio commentary by director Kathryn Bigelow and writer Mark Boal, and a “Hurt Locker: Behind the Scenes” featurette.